The more things change, the more they stay the same.
On a night Warsaw Community High School honored its 1984 boys basketball state championship team, the current Tigers showed some swagger of their own Friday and beat Northern Lakes Conference rival NorthWood 53-43."I think it was meaningful for our players to see the 1984 team out on the floor tonight," said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle, whose team improved to 11-1 overall and 4-1 in the NLC. "I think we're a good team, but we've got plenty of things we can work on to be better. It was meaningful for our players to see the 1984 state championship team. That team is a great example of the team we want to be."
In beating the visiting Panthers by 10, dropping them to 8-6 overall and 3-2 in NLC play, Warsaw shot 50 percent from the floor, converted 15 of 20 free throw attempts and finished the game with just six turnovers.
"We played well offensively in the first half," said Ogle. "We wanted stay aggressive, but not shoot too quickly. We didn't shoot the ball as well in the second half, but we were able to get to the free throw line. We made 15 of 20 free throws, and NorthWood makes 8 of 13. That's a seven-point difference, that's big."
It was a big difference in the game for the Tigers, who held an 18-point advantage in the second quarter, but found themselves leading by just six, 44-38, with 2:10 remaining in the game.
"Give credit to Warsaw," said second-year NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe, formerly the Tigers' junior varsity coach. "They're a very good team. They have very good players at every spot. On the other hand, I was proud that we fought back. From a rebounding standpoint, we did much better in the second half. Warsaw is not a team you want to give second chances."
The Tigers outrebounded NorthWood 26-17 and scored 10 second-chance points to the Panthers' five.
Warsaw led 12-5 after one quarter of play, 32-19 at halftime and 43-30 heading into the fourth quarter.
With the Tigers leading 7-5 late in the first quarter, senior Ryne Robinson drilled one of Warsaw's six first-half three-pointers, sparking a 19-3 run that the Panthers never fully recovered from.
When sophomore standout Nic Moore hit his third consecutive trey in the second quarter, the Tigers were up 26-8 with 4:28 to play in the first half.
Moore finished the game with 12 points, all of which came in the second quarter. Robinson led the Tigers in scoring with 15, while junior Justin Clemens scored 10, senior Chase Byerly added six points, junior Zack Linky chipped in with five points, senior Taylor Long and junior Josh Anglin scored two points each and junior Andy Conrad chipped in with a free throw.
"Warsaw is so balanced, they have so many weapons," said Wolfe. "When you face Warsaw, you talk about concepts, and one of the things you have to do is keep them away from the free throw line."
That didn't happen Friday night, as the Tigers were 11 of 13 from the charity stripe in the second half.
Senior Skyler Titus led NorthWood with a game-high 19 points, while classmate Micah Horner added 11 points and sophomore Michael Paul scored seven points.
"Skyler Titus poses mismatches for other teams because of his competitive spirit, his quickness, his strength and his basketball IQ," said Wolfe. "He's been a great leader in our community in all three sports (football, basketball & baseball)."
With the 10-point win, Warsaw took sole possession of second place in the NLC.
Northridge, the only team to beat the Tigers this season, leads the way at 13-0 overall and 5-0 in conference action.
Following Warsaw are NorthWood (3-2), Concord (3-2), Elkhart Memorial (3-2), Goshen (1-4), Wawasee (1-4) and Plymouth (0-5).
The Tigers host Memorial Friday and then travel to Marion Saturday.
"We've got some games coming up, the game next Saturday at Marion, the game later in the month with Bishop Luers, that will tell us exactly where we are," said Ogle.
NorthWood will be in action again Tuesday at West Noble.
WARSAW 53,
NORTHWOOD 43
NW 5 14 11 13 - 43
W 12 20 11 10 - 53
NorthWood - Horner 4 0-0 11, B. Williams 1 0-0 2, Titus 7 5-9 19, Heckaman 0 0-0 0, Sittler 0 0-0 0, Paul 2 1-2 7, C. Williams 1 2-2 4. Totals 15 8-13 43.
Warsaw - Conrad 0 1-2 1, Clemens 3 4-6 10, Moore 4 1-2 12, Linky 2 0-0 5, Robinson 4 5-5 15, Long 0 2-2 2, Byerly 2 2-3 6, Anglin 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 15-20 53.
